ROOKIES HAMILTON, LEARY & ABREU & MOST IMPROVED STOCKON

Champions of USAC’s 2012 racing season will be honored on Friday night, December 7, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Ind. as the 57th “Night of Champions” coincides again this year with the 4th Annual International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS), being held at the nearby Indiana Convention Center.

USAC “Rookies of the Year” for 2012 include Kyle Hamilton of Danville, Ind. (Traxxas Silver Crown), C.J. Leary of Greenfield, Ind. (AMSOIL National Sprint) and Rico Abreu of Rutherford, Calif. (Mopar National Midget), while the “Most Improved Driver” for 2012 is Chase Stockon of Sullivan, Ind. Hamilton recorded a sixth-place finish at Toledo was his best in four starts as he took 14th in the final standings. Leary, the son of former Hoosier Hundred Winner Chuck Leary, started 20 features this year and notched four “top10s.” Abreu, steadily improving during the season, posted four straight “top-10s” late in the year, including a third at Peoria, Ariz. In addition he added his first USAC feature win in the Western Midget series at Calistoga. Stockon finished seventh in the final AMSOIL National Sprint Car standings and scored impressive back-to-back feature wins at Lawrenceburg, Ind. and Terre Haute, Ind. late in the series.

In addition to the various series championship awards, numerous other performance awards are part of the ceremonies as well as special recognition awards.

USAC’s Traxxas Off-Road Truck Championships (TORC) will also be featured at the banquet, which gets under way with a cocktail hour at 6 pm and dinner to follow at 7.

USAC National Racing Champions to be honored include Bryan Clauson, the repeat three-time winner of USAC’s National Drivers Championship and AMSOIL National Sprint title. The National Drivers Championship again carries a 2013 scholarship from INDYCAR. Other National Champions are Bobby East (TRAXXAS Silver Crown) and Darren Hagen (Mopar National Midget). TORC Champions include Ricky Johnson (Pro 4x4), Bryce Menzies (Pro 2WD), Brad Lovell (Pro Light 2WD) and Mitchell DeJong (Pro Buggy).

The Indiana Roof Ballroom is located at 140 W. Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis.